ita, and whoever is interested, regarding migraines:
If you have insurance, run, don't walk, to a neurologist. Get a recommendation from your regular doctor, but don't go to your regular doctor for treatment, go to a neurologist. Every doctor I trust told me this. Be prepared: Neurologists tend to have really crappy "bedside" manner. From what I've heard, they are almost universally obnoxious. But they can help. If you can, bring someone with you to the appointment to make sure you get all of the information you need. The key: if you have migraines often, you can get drugs that will keep you from getting most of them and will generally lessen the severity of others. Ask for these drugs. They are wonderful. If you don't have low blood pressure, they may prescribe beta blockers, which are also indicated for high blood pressure. If you have low blood pressure, they may prescribe something else. I know that there are other things available, but I'm not sure what.
There are several other remedies that I suggest when you have a migraine. There are several prescription non-narcotic migraine relievers that may work for you. They don't work all that well for me. If you get them, take them at the first sign of a migraine. When you are in massive pain, it may be too late.
What works for me is two Aleve (naproxen sodium), taken at the beginning of a migraine. This was recommended by my neurologist, who said that many of his patients found this more effective than prescription medications. As with the prescription painkillers, this should be taken as soon as you realize a migraine is coming on. Don't be strong and try to tough it out. You'll end up taking much more medication with much less effect. I also find that cola is effective. I've tried coffee and chocolate. Coffee sometimes helps when there's no cola available, but chocolate doesn't alleviate my migraine and exacerbates the accompanying nausea. Coffee increases my nausea, but sometimes helps with the pain. I ALWAYS have Pepsi in my apartment, even though I don't drink it regularly, in case I get a migraine. I have also found an ice pack to the back of the neck to be effective. I had tried heat, because it worked for tension headaches, but found that it made my migraines worse. Then I read to try cold, and it worked wonderfully.
As I understand it, migraines are believed to be caused by dilating blood vessels in the head. Constricting the blood vessels, which the cold and caffiene do, can help alleviate the pain. Some medication for congestion can have this same effect, so it may be worth trying, especially if you don't have the other things available. Don't go overboard on either of these remedies, though, or you may get a backlash migraine when their analgesic effect wears off.
All of this reflects what works for me, and what I have read. I think it's worth trying. However, everyone is different. I have a coworker who uses heat for her migraines, and find it effective. Even if something works for most people, it may not work for you. But, there are lots of things available to prevent or alleviate migraines. If something doesn't work for you, keep searching and trying other things. Good luck!
By the way, I think that there's something in the air today. Two of us at work had migraines today. I had to come in to work late for the second time this month because of migraine. I took the Aleve, Pepsi, and cold pack to get it to the point where I could face the world. But there is hope. I used to have a headache almost every day, and a doozy at least once a week. I now take beta blockers for my migraines, and I would guess that they are 75-90% fewer than before, and the really, really nasty ones only come once every few years.